Selling online, Working from Home
So you’ve decided to turn your hobby into a business…
So many people in the past few years have made the switch from being an employee, to being their own boss.
And getting online to start that business you’ve always wanted is the next best thing.
But the task of choosing a web page builder and web hosting server can be a bit too much. Because you just want to start selling your products and start earning some money.
In my past experience, from starting many different websites from several different web hosting servers, there is much more to opening your website than you would think.
And really, the only thing you want to do in the beginning is just create your actual products and start selling them. Your initial web presence can be taken care of using your social media.
But even then, you still want to look professional and have a platform to offer your products. And also from experience, the platforms out there, will not necessarily make your new brand and new products make sense within their platform.
In addition, it really does depend on what you are making and selling.
The LOLA Marketplace was created for makers creating luxury products.
Giving makers a platform that is less clutter and also less categories. The LOLA Marketplace only caters to fashion, art, home and skincare.
This means, for example, skincare clients looking for new handmade skincare don’t have to browse old car parts and used office supplies while visiting your store. This is the same for someone looking for a vintage wool coat and stumbling upon old VCRs or used beepers. 😵🥺
This helps sellers who are selling expensive, luxury items.
The LOLA Marketplace gives high end sellers a better place to showcase their products and express that their products are really worth every penny.
Opening your Virtual Storefront
Getting started is very easy! Everything is organized and is all very self explanatory. You’ll see how quick it is to start sharing your products and receive payments online.
But you’ll also soon realize, the hard part is getting your photos perfect for your Virtual Storefront. 🤩
You’ll want everything in your store to be able to grab your target customer and get them to check out your products.
So before you list your products, make sure you’ve got really great pictures.
You’ll want your customer to keep coming back and checking you out.
The importance of great photos allow you to connect with your customer much faster.
And you want your products to find their proper home with the proper buyers.
Take your time making sure you’ve got your brand and store image looking good.
Use the best photos for your store and your products.
What you’ll realize after you get your store set up with your basic details is that the part that takes the most time is finding the best photos for your virtual store.
You will also need to start thinking about your logo or avatar.
You’ll have an area in your store that you can upload your logo and it will display on your storefront.
It is best to find images for the store banner that are clear and crisp, meaning not blurry and pixelated. We want your store to look professional and high quality. And we want you to look your best so you can help your clients and buyers to feel absolutely at ease with knowing that they are getting a quality product and service from your store. Pictures really do speak a thousand words. Therefore, please do your best to ensure the photos and videos in your virtual storefront is the best representation of your store and your brand.
Taking the best photos of your products
Sometimes just taking a photo of your products is not good enough for those discerning buyers. Your photos need to be more than just a picture. Your photos should entice your buyers to buy your products. Beyond that, your photos should, if it is possible, also convey the theme for your store or brand. It helps to further target your audience to visually express your brand or store image.
Taking the extra time to get good pictures in your listings is truly worth every hour it takes to get that photo just right. Think about your favorite products. Try emulating the photographic standards of your favorite brands. You wouldn’t be enticed to buy the things you love if it wasn’t for the extra time and energy those brands have taken to make sure their photos and videos are perfect.
Examples of Product Photography
Employees & Staff Access?
You can outsource tasks and give multiple members of your staff access to your virtual storefront, each with their own separate log in information.
Getting your products to your buyers.
There is one extremely important piece of the online sales platform. The shipping and handling.
As a seller catering to an audience who is looking for luxury and quality service, it’s important to understand that shipping should be made as easy as possible for the buyer.
If you can offer Free Shipping, that would be the best way for your clients to feel catered to. You can add the shipping cost to the cost per item and make the checkout process extremely easy for your buyers.
You will be able to customize your shipping settings and connect your shipping accounts in your seller Dashboard. Then you will be able to print labels and make your in house process organized and efficient.
Start earning, as soon as possible!
After you’re all set with your virtual storefront and finalized your listings, the next thing to do is connect your banking or PayPal account.
Why PayPal? With all the different online hacks these days, we feel much better knowing that all of our sellers and buyers don’t have to enter or store their personal banking information on our web server. By using PayPal, you can simply connect your account and this will allow you to receive payments directly without entering any private information.
As PayPal users ourselves, as buyers and consumers online, it feels good to know that you can limit the amount of online websites out there which are storing your personal information.
All payment withdrawals are automatic every 7 days. No need to sign in anywhere to get your payments. Pretty much get paid automatically, anywhere you are!
Set up your PayPal account and connect it with your store. And that’s pretty much it. So simple!
Actualizing your Virtual Presence!
Now that you’re all set, It’s up to you to let everyone know you’re online.
You have the ability to manage your SEO and keywords to help you control your virtual presence.
Soon you will get the hang of listing and posting and it will be a breeze for you to continuously add products any time.
